Reader Voices: Who Pays for Content?

As newspapers and other print publications shrink while the webosphere grows ever larger, will the quality of content available to us all get better or worse? Ever since I raised that question in my comments about InfoWorld ceasing its print publication (see "Out of Print"), readers have been sharing some very interesting thoughts on the s

The disappearance of print publications could have some other long-term consequences. "The issue of web publishing vs hard copy publishing, and the distribution of advertising income to those who do not provide original content, is of utmost interest," wrote another reader. "I enjoy model trains as a hobby. Since my retirement, I've seen several publications either cease publication or reduce the number of pages that they do print. As you say, it's a matter of how the advertising dollar is allocated. I'm also concerned about its long-term availability and the costs for access. I've been able to assemble a complete set of Model Railroader magazines from 1950 to the present date. I could assemble this collection because hard copies of the early issues are still available -- albeit via second hand copies - at various flea markets and hobby shops. I've paid for this information once. I can access it as often as I want and there is no ongoing access charges. The web-based publishing model with its ongoing charges for information access scares me."

Some readers did see at least some reason for hope. "As I see the shrinking trade press and the decreasing revenue trends for newspapers, and as I watch the transformation of what used to be regarded as the national television news into a simple-minded entertainment medium, I am a little worried," wrote one reader. "But I'm hopeful that there are some countervailing forces. NPR, for example, as a subscription-based entity, is well-placed to prosper as people realize we can rely less and less on the mainstream media to give us the information we need. Intelligent bloggers like TalkingPointsMemo, which has shed a great deal of light on the US Attorney sacking story, occasionally raises money from readers (recently, something like 2000 people contributed in two days) over and above the advertising revenue from the web site. As for the trade press, I'm not sure how this will play out. I guess it remains to be seen how the web-based advertising will support the kind of reporting we'd like to see, or whether there'll be more subscription-based alternatives."